Red Centre Adventure (Basix)

Days

Price from

Enter a land of great natural beauty and profound spiritual significance on this 4 Day adventure into Australia's Red Centre. Search for native wildlife while hiking the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Learn about the geological forces that gave rise to the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Hear of indigenous connections to Uluru during a Mala cultural interpretative walk and explore the the creeks, gorges and gullies of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Red Centre Adventure (Basix)

Enter a land of great natural beauty and profound spiritual significance on this 4 Day adventure into Australia's Red Centre. Search for native wildlife while hiking the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Learn about the geological forces that gave rise to the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Hear of indigenous connections to Uluru during a Mala cultural interpretative walk and explore the the creeks, gorges and gullies of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Start

Alice Springs,
Australia

Finish

Alice Springs,
Australia

Destination

Northern Territory,
Uluru,
Outback

Style

Basix

Theme

Indigenous Culture,
Overland,
Short Breaks,
Walking & Trekking

Code

PAR4-B

Physical rating

Ages

Min
8

Group size

Min
1, Max
24

Why you'll love this trip

Join an Indigenous Guide on a Mala walk around the base of Uluru, an experience exclusive to Adventure Tours

This trips provides you with the best guides in the business who know the Australian outback like the back of their hand

Wander through the iconic domes of Kata Tjuta, and gaze in awe at the sacred rock of Uluru

Dine under the stars and camp within privately owned sites on the red earth of the outback

Enjoy our exclusive Australian Native Foods menu throughout the trip. Created in conjunction with Aussie bush tucker specialist Andrew Fielke, you will be treated to a plethora of native dishes incorporating ingredients such as kangaroo, emu, lemon myrtle, desert lime, wattle seed and more

Traverse the immense landscape of the West MacDonnell Ranges and keep an eye out for an abundance of wildlife

Discover the spiritual importance of the outback landscape to local Aboriginal communities on guided nature walks - exclusive to Intrepid

Is this trip right for you?

This is a camping trip for those who are looking for the basics. Simple facilities and lack of emphasis on creature comforts make this an authentic experience of the Australian outback.

Group participation makes up a lot of this trip, so you'll be required to help with preparation of meals and cleaning up. These are the kind of tasks that bring a group closer together. Group sizes can also be pretty big, so be prepared to share this experience with a bigger group than what you might be familiar with.

Temperatures in the Red Centre can be extreme. During the day the weather can be very hot (and the Australian sun is very strong) so please bring appropriate clothing, use sun protection and drink plenty of water. In the evenings temperatures really drop, so bring base layers and warm clothing.

This trip requires a moderate level of fitness as it involves a lot of walking, allowing you to really get among nature. Please bring sturdy, comfortable walking shoes and comfortable clothing.

On most days of the trip, you’ll spend several hours driving through very sparse areas of desert. Crank up the tunes and sit back to enjoy landscapes that you would miss in any other form of travel.

Melbourne might have the arts scene and Sydney the beaches, but Alice Springs is really where you need to go to understand Australia proper. Approximately 70% of the Australian continent is classed as arid or semi-arid – and little old Alice Springs sits right in the middle of it all. First stop for the day is a working outback camel farm, where you’ll have the chance to lope through the outback on a ‘ship of the desert’. Whereas Uluru emerges from the earth as one giant boulder form, Kata Tjuta pops up as 36 different domes – you’ll get to know the site pretty well on an afternoon hike following lunch. Sip on a glass of sparkling wine as you watch the sky cast glorious colours over The Rock and then as evening begins, it’s time to tuck into our famous 1,000 Star Dinner: an outdoor candlelit feast of delicious food and wines.

Notes: Total driving time is approximately five and a half hours. Total walking time is around an hour.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Uluru sunset drinks

1000 Star Dinner

Uluru & Kata Tjuta National Park Entrance

Meals Included

It’s an early rise today but seeing Australia is what you came for, right? After watching a fiery outback sun rear up over the world’s biggest rock get a real sense of the rock’s scale on an unguided walk around its base. Then learn about the cultural significance of this iconic landform on a cultural interpretative walk with an indigenous guide. In their creation time stories, the Anangu’s ancestral beings the Mala settled here after being chased to the region by an evil dog-like creature called kurpany. The on-site Cultural Centre also houses an extensive collection of indigenous arts and crafts for you to browse. Tonight we spend the night in an exclusive campsite in Watarrka National Park.

Note: Total driving time today is around three and a half hours. Total walking time is approximately two hours.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Uluru Cultural Centre

Mala cultural interpretative walk

Uluru Base Walk

Meals Included

The centrepiece attraction of Watarrka is undoubtedly Kings Canyon; a humungous gorge enclosed by sheer rock walls hundreds of metres high. Offering a welcome escape from the dry desert heat, this site’s deep gullies and hidden rockpools provide shelter to more than 600 species of native plants and animals. Your guide will point these out on a guided trek that takes in the canyon’s most famous sites – the Lost City, Garden of Eden, Amphitheatre and North and South Walls. Then it’s lunch, rest, and onward to our camp at Glen Helen in the Western MacDonnell Ranges.

Note: Total driving time takes around five hours. Total walking time is approximately three hours.

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (1 night)

Included Activities

Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Meals Included

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Special Information

Flights must be booked to depart Alice Springs the day after the trip finishes.

Watch the Australian wilds waking up on a morning drive through the West MacDonnell Ranges. We’ll follow the Waterhole trail through Ormiston Pound to Ormiston Gorge – a tranquil little rock pool surrounded by ochre-coloured rock walls and white-trunked eucalypts. Black-footed rock wallabies often pop down here for a drink, so keep those peepers peeled. Next up is Ellery Creek, where there’s the chance to cool off with a dip. Following lunch, it’s on to Simpsons Gap. Known as Rungutjirpa to the Arrernte people, this deep gorge, often partly filled with water, is associated with goanna, eagle and rock wallaby dreamings. If it takes your fancy, see the colours of the ranges change during sunset from atop a camel on an optional sunset ride.

The total driving time will be about three hours, and you will walk up to 10km.

Included Activities

Western MacDonnell Ranges

Optional Activities

Sunset Camel Ride (Child) - AUD40

Sunset Camel Ride (Adult) - AUD75

Meals Included

Breakfast

Lunch

Inclusions

Meals

3 breakfasts,
4 lunches,
3 dinners

Transport

All Terrain vehicle

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (3 nights)

Included activities

Uluru sunset drinks

1000 Star Dinner

Uluru & Kata Tjuta National Park Entrance

Uluru Cultural Centre

Mala cultural interpretative walk

Uluru Base Walk

Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Western MacDonnell Ranges

Meals

3 breakfasts,
4 lunches,
3 dinners

Transport

All Terrain vehicle

Accommodation

Permanent tented camp (with shared facilities) (3 nights)

Included activities

Uluru sunset drinks

1000 Star Dinner

Uluru & Kata Tjuta National Park Entrance

Uluru Cultural Centre

Mala cultural interpretative walk

Uluru Base Walk

Kings Canyon Rim Walk

Western MacDonnell Ranges

Days

4

Price from

Enter a land of great natural beauty and profound spiritual significance on this 4 Day adventure into Australia's Red Centre. Search for native wildlife while hiking the Kings Canyon Rim Walk. Learn about the geological forces that gave rise to the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Hear of indigenous connections to Uluru during a Mala cultural interpretative walk and explore the the creeks, gorges and gullies of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Next trip departures

Jump to a departure month

Important notes

1. Trip commences in Alice Springs on day 1 at 6:00am and finishes in Alice Springs day 4 at approx 6pm.
2. This trip requires a sleeping bag.
3. You can also join this trip in Yulara (Uluru) on Day 1; see tour code PAR4Y-B.
4. This trip is available in Original and Basix styles.
5. Please arrange Sunset Camel Ride in advance (day 4 of trip)

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.